Over on the ever-lovely Isle of Man, it’s turned out to be the most sensational evening. The Three Shades, Horace Flaccus, Horace Walpole and Horace Silver are already there, hovering in the twilight, when PP and Fenella finally arrive on Pansy’s motorbike. They’re late as usual, but The Three Shades don’t seem to mind. After all, they do have all the time in the world, don’t they?

The team is getting together at dusk, at an ancient place where they like to meet when the weather’s nice. It’s in the middle of the most beautiful circle of prehistoric standing stones on the island’s southwest. This mystical place is situated on a remote hillside, one side of which looks across to the mountains and the other down towards the sea.

Hearing the vroom of a hot, racing motorbike heading up the hill towards them, the three ghosts turn their heads expectantly. Pansy, aka PP, parks behind the largest of the enormous stones.

She appears first, walking briskly towards the Three Shades, unbuckling, lifting her helmet off and shaking out her hair. Behind her, Fenella, her older, White witch partner, picks her way over the rough ground.

‘We just have to tell all you Horaces straight away!’ says Pansy, getting excited now. ‘Barrett says the ratings for the last show were amazing!’ she gushes, adding, ‘he even told us they were “Earth-shattering!” she grins.

‘Er, would it be possible for you to explain to us what exactly that means, Ma’am?’ asks the ever-polite Walpole.

‘What it means, gentlemen,’ says PP, grinning, ‘is that not only are we already getting a huge worldwide audience, but it’s growing bigger and bigger with every show!’

‘And after the last one,’ Fenella butts in excitedly, ‘we’ve had so many people trying to sign up that Barrett has been overwhelmed. His computers and the social media department can’t cope. He’s having to put on more people every day to handle it!’

‘Yes, but, um, what precisely does all of this mean, Ms Pansy?’ asks Flaccus.

‘Look, I’m sure we explained it to you before, Horace. Don’t you remember? The viewers of our Supermoon show all over the world are also a part of the show, right? They’re active participants with their “Cozmics”, says Pansy.

‘Well, yes, my dear, you certainly did,’ said Flaccus, with that lovely smile of his. ‘But I’m afraid that was the part I could never quite understand,’ confesses the Roman Horace. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he adds, looking seriously embarrassed now.

‘Not to worry at all, Horace,’ says Pansy gently. Flaccus has always been her favourite, even though she always enjoys teasing him.

‘Did you know that on the next show,’ she says, ‘the Supermoon is going to be the closest it’s been to the Earth for sixty-nine years! Yes! And that means that if we can add the viewers’ Cozmics together with all of that extra Moon energy,’ she tells them excitedly, making a fingers-crossed sign.

At that point, Pansy pauses, grins, and says, ‘Well, just try to imagine the power involved!’

‘The technical guys even think we might have enough energy,’ says Fenella, ‘to maybe bring you back in full colour… and all of you at the same time!’

‘All of us in colour…  and at the same time?’ says Horace Walpole, getting really excited himself now.

‘Are you sure?’ says Horace Silver, ‘In full colour?’

‘Absolutely!’ says the by-now almost gushing Fenella! ‘Bye-bye to all that fuzzy black and white stuff, eh?’

They can all feel the excitement rippling the air between them. The psychic, the witch, and the three Horaces gathered in the magic circle of prehistoric standing stones.

‘It’s called “collective mental focus”,’ says PP. ‘And that means that if it all works out, you three guys will materialise as psychic energy through me!’

‘And that’d be sooo cool, baby! Right?’ smiles jazzman Horace Silver.

Fenella grins again and nods; ‘But, how about this? If we can get enough Cozmics from the global audience, all three of you Shades may even seem to fully come back to life for a while!’

This time, all three of them just stand there, totally gobsmacked!

‘Now, nobody is certain exactly what will happen,’ says Fel, ‘but whaddya reckon, gentlemen? Let’s give it a go, eh?’ she gushes.

By now, they’re all totally in love with the idea… and it shows.

‘I’m afraid I still don’t quite understand it,’ Flaccus says to her, almost flapping his toga with excitement, ‘but wouldn’t it be wonderful if it did actually happen? Especially for me after two thousand years in the shade!’

‘Hey, you could even really “Seize the day!” says Pansy!

* * *

“It is charming to totter into vogue.”

Horace Walpole

1717-1797

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